Vida
by Ferdy 63
Summary: I'm trying to sort out all my stories and ran across this one that I hadn't published before. It's Bethyl and pretty short so please let me know what you think.


It was cold, so cold that his breath made clouds as he paced back and forth near the fence. He'd been up all night and couldn't sit still. It was panic, pure and simple, something that Daryl didn't think he'd ever experienced before. He needed to be able to do something, to help in some way, but there was nothing that he could do except wait.

Dixons weren't known for their patience. In fact, it was the very opposite that people often commented on, not that he gave two shits what anybody thought. It was just that he couldn't sit still and simply wait. It didn't matter what Maggie said or how many times she gave him the evil eye. He had to do something other than watch Beth suffering.

After several outbursts of his cursing, Maggie finally kicked him out and that's why he now found himself walking the fence line in the dark in freezing weather. Damn it, he wanted to kill something. His bow lay slung across his back as usual but there were no walkers in sight and he couldn't leave the grounds until it was over.

He could hear Beth yelling out in pain and he ran for the door of the prison. Glen stood blocking his path. "Hold up, dude. Maggie said she'd call you when they're ready. You're just making things harder with your yelling and pacing," Glen told him.

"Goddammit! How's a man supposed to endure this?" he shouted at Glen in desperation.

"I don't know. You just do it because you have to," Glen responded. "It's not easy but it's part of life."

Daryl leaned back against the wall and slid down into a crouch with his head ducked down toward his knees. Tears were threatening and he didn't want to look like a pussy in front of Glen. The young man stooped and put a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"We're all here for you, Daryl," he said with a light pat on the arm. Daryl couldn't reply. He just looked up at the clear cold night sky. Normally he scoffed at the idea of prayer but tonight he considered it. He'd do anything if it would help her. He and Glen sat in companionable silence a while.

Suddenly, they heard running footsteps and Carl's head appeared around the doorway. His eyes were huge and he spoke hurriedly, "Daryl, Maggie says you gotta come NOW!" before he disappeared back inside. Daryl was on his feet and following behind the boy in the blink of an eye.

They made their way down a short hallway to a back bedroom. Everyone was gathered outside the door and watched in anticipation as he sidled through them to enter the room. Maggie stood at the side of the bed blocking his view of Beth but she turned as he walked in.

"It's time, Daryl. You ready?" she asked as she stepped to the bottom of the bed. Beth lay against a stack of pillows, sweat streaming off her face causing the tendrils of hair around her forehead to curl and stick to her skin. She reached out and took his hand as he sank down on the chair next to the bed.

Maggie began adjusting the bed covers and gathering some supplies. Beth looked up at him and smiled. She was clearly exhausted. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

"This is it," she said and all he could do was nod. A large lump in his throat prevented any words from getting past. He kept his eyes glued on Beth's face as she gritted her teeth and hunched forward against the pain that threatened to rip her apart. He wanted to make it stop. She couldn't stand much more yet Maggie kept yelling at her to "give just one more push." Then suddenly, Beth fell back against the pillows with her eyes closed and let out a soft gasp of air.

"Beth? Beth!" he yelled as he leaned over and shook her shoulders.

He felt Maggie nudge his arm gently and he turned to see her holding a bloody bundle of towels which she thrust into his arms before leaning down to check on her younger sister. The bundle began wiggling in his hands and he gently pulled it close. As Maggie felt Beth's pulse and breathing, she said, "It's a girl, Daryl. You have a baby girl and Beth'll be okay. I think she's just exhausted."

Daryl felt his ugly cry face coming on but he didn't care. He'd never seen anything as perfect as this. The baby was red and wrinkly with blonde curls and chubby cheeks. She was still covered in blood and other goop but she was perfect. Daryl touched his finger to the tiny fist that was waving angrily and felt his child grab onto him. It thrilled him. He was a daddy now.

"We've got a little girl," he said in disbelief as he sat back down next to the bed and laid the baby next to Beth. Their little girl was fighting mad at the moment. Her cries woke Beth who reached for her baby as soon as her eyes opened.

"Is the baby okay?" Beth asked shakily. Daryl picked their daughter up and placed her on Beth's chest. He watched as she opened the blanket and counted each finger and toe.

"She's perfect," he told her. "Just like her Mama."

Maggie put a hand on his arm. "Hey, Daryl, you want to take her out there to meet the rest of the family while I take care of Beth?"

"Is there somethin' wrong?" Daryl asked quickly, his concern showing on his face.

"No, she's fine but she did just give birth. We need to get the sheets changed and she'll want a fresh nightgown. It'll only take a few minutes but I know the others are dying to see this little one," Maggie reassured him.

Daryl looked down to Beth. She smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. I'm fine," she told him. He could see how exhausted she was.

"Okay, but I'll be right out there. Just holler if you need anything," he said as he stood and turned toward the door.

"Wait," Maggie said quickly. She grabbed a clean blanket and a washcloth from a table near the bed. There was a pan of clean warm water sitting on the floor so she wet the wash cloth and wiped the baby's face and hair off with it. Then she took the bloody towel away and wrapped her in the clean soft blanket.

Daryl looked back to Beth before leaving the room. She looked completely relaxed and had her eyes closed.

"Don't worry about her," Maggie whispered, "She's just tired. She was in labor for ten hours and they call it labor for a reason. It's hard work."

Daryl chewed his lip and nodded, then left Maggie to her work and carefully walked out the door to show off his baby. As soon as the door opened, Rick, Carl, Glen and Michonne jumped up from their seats in the next room and hurried over.

"Well?" Rick asked anxiously.

"It's a girl," Daryl told him, beaming with pride.

"I knew it," Michonne said exuberantly. "I told you it was a girl. You owe me a Big Kat bar, mister," she gloated as she looked at Rick.

Rick just smiled and ducked his head, rubbing his hand against the stubble of his beard. "Well, I just didn't think Daryl Dixon could produce a little girl. I admit defeat and will humbly pay up after I get a look at this little one," he replied.

Daryl carefully pulled the blanket back. "She's a cutie," Glen said with a chuckle as he leaned in for a look.

"Man, you can tell it's Daryl's kid. She already needs a haircut," Carl joked as he got a look at the baby's head full of reddish blonde curls.

Sasha and Tyrese had edged closer. "Ooh, I can't wait until I get a turn to babysit," Sasha said to her big brother.

"I'm the one with all the experience in that department," he replied as he reached a massive index finger for the baby to grab with one tiny fist.

"Just what we need around here, another damn temperamental Dixon," Abe protested jokingly as he and Rosita got their first look at the little newcomer. Rosita promptly elbowed him in the ribs in response.

"She's beautiful," Tara said, adding, "Eugene won't come look at her because he says 'babies make him nervous', go figure. How's Beth?"

"Doin' good. She's just tired. Maggie's gettin' her settled," Daryl told them.

Rick nodded . "She had a long labor. Ten hours' worth of work pushing a hard Dixon head out into the world has to be pretty damn exhausting," he told them all with a grin.

Michonne pushed Rick aside. "Gimme, gimme," she said holding out her arms toward their new family member. Daryl reluctantly handed his girl over and Michonne pulled the baby close. "It's been a long time," Michonne said, getting misty eyed as she looked down at the baby. Rick placed a hand on her back and rubbed gently.

Everyone got a look at the new little addition and then stood talking for a bit until Maggie stuck her head out the door.

"She's all settled," Maggie said to Daryl. "Let's get this little Miss cleaned up and diapered now." Maggie took the baby and walked back into the room to the pail of warm water. She quickly cleaned that baby up and popped a newborn size Pamper on her behind. Carol and Maggie had scavenged everywhere for baby clothes over the past few months but the smallest thing they'd found, a yellow sleeper with orange ducks on the front, still looked awfully large on the tiny body.

While Maggie washed and dressed the baby, Rick, Michonne and the others congratulated Beth. When the clean and sweet smelling bundle now swaddled once again was placed back in Daryl's arms, they all excused themselves leaving the little family alone. The baby had started to squirm and squawk just a bit.

"Think she's hungry?" Daryl asked as he sat back on the edge of the bed next to Beth.

"Give her here and we'll see," Beth said as she took the baby and dropped one shoulder of her nightgown before pulling her daughter close. The little girl rooted around for a moment but quickly got the hang of things and began to nurse. Daryl sat and watched in awe.

Beth was staring down at their child with a smile of total contentment. "Look at what we did, Daryl," she said rather dreamily.

"What you did, you mean," he replied.

"Couln't have done it without you," she said with a smile as she glanced up at him.

"Yeah, but I just had the easy and fun part of that deal," he told her in seriousness to which Beth just shook her head.

The two of them couldn't stop looking down at the baby in wonder. Daryl noticed that Beth was tearing up.

"Hey," Daryl said, "you okay?"

"I just never expected to have something like this. I mean after everything we've been through, it just didn't seem possible. She's so perfect and you, you're too good to me. It just feels like it's all too good to be true. What if something happens to her? I couldn't survive that," she confessed as she softly stoked the baby's cheek.

"Ain't nothin' gon happen to her or to you. You ain't got to worry about it. That's my job, to keep y'all both safe. Just concentrate on her, that's all you need to do," he told her confidently. "Just put that out of your head. Think of somethin' good. Let's ….think of a name for our girl. How 'bout that? What do ya think?"

Beth wiped her eyes, looked up and nodded. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked.

"Nah," he said. "If it was a boy, I was thinkin' maybe Merle but that don't work for a daughter."

Beth chuckled and shook her head. "That's probably for the best. I don't know if the world's ready for another Merle Dixon," she told him.

"I reckon you're right," he agreed. "You musta thought of some names though."

"Well I did have an idea," she said. "If you don't like it though, just say so. I like the name Vida Serena. It means peaceful life and I hope that's what she'll get to have some day. What do you think?"

"Vida Dixon," he said. "I kinda like it. Yeah, it's good. Vida. That's what she is, what you both are for me. You're my life now. It fits."

Little Vida had stopped nursing and fallen contentedly to sleep against her mother's breast. Beth eased the baby away from herself and handed her back to Daryl while she covered back up. "Lay down over here next to me," she told him patting the other side of the double bed. He walked around to the other side and gently eased himself down next to Beth, holding the baby so that she lay on his stomach.

He looked over at Beth. "I don't know if I'ma be any good at this, ya know," he told her.

She turned on her side and laid her arm across him and the baby then leaned over and kissed his cheek before snuggling in to his side. "But I know, Daryl. I always knew. You're going to be the best Dad. You'll have her spoiled, the way you've spoiled me. And then when she's older, you can teach her to hunt and track and shoot a bow just like you taught me. She's gotta learn to be tough cause after all she is a Dixon…. "

Daryl's eyes slowly began to close as he listened to Beth talk about their future like something out of a fairytale he heard once when he was small. As he drifted away, he remembered the last line of that story, "and they lived happily ever after." They would. He was going to make sure of it.


End file.
